On behalf of the consortium of the European project TRADR (Long-Term Human-Robot Teaming for Robot Assisted Disaster Response) we are pleased to announce that we will be hosting a TRADR Technology Day organized by the Dortmund Fire Department.
Topics: Robotics and AI technology use in disaster response: research, system development and practial experience
TRADR develops technology for human-robot teams to assist in disaster response efforts over multiple missions.
In this way, TRADR also enables the users to actively experience this technology and to become aware of its potential and current limitations, to in the end facilitate its uptake.
During the day we show the project achievements and share insights gained so far, including the experience from the TRADR deployment in Amatrice, Italy, shortly after the earthquake, and discuss future developments. The day is intended for a broad range of stakeholders including industry developing technology for robot-assisted disaster response and similar applications as well as the users of the technology such as rescuers and other responders.
On Sep 15 Tomas Svoboda from the Czech Technical University in Prague gave an invited talk about robot-assisted disaster response at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT).
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) is a Foundation and financed by the Stateto conduct scientific research in the public interest, for the purpose of technological development.
T. Svoboda is Research Fellow and Assistant Professor at the Czech Technical University, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Department of Cybernetics since 2003.
On Sep 9 2016 the TRADR coordinator I. Kruijff-Korbayova gave an invited talk about robot-assisted disaster response in Helsinki at the Delegates Assembly & Symposium of CTIF, the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services. CTIF was founded in 1999 as an international professional firebrigade competency network for encouraging and promoting co-operation among fire fighters and other experts in fire and rescue. It has members from 36 countries around the world. Its work is organized by commissions which set up working groups on specific themes.
I. Kruijff-Korbayova is a member of the CTIF commission on Extrication and New Technology, which she has been invited to join after her invited talk at the International Conference of CTIF on December 9 2015 at the Italian Firebrigade Academy (Istituto Superiore Anticendi, ISA) in Rome (see an earlier post). The commission for Extrication and New Technology was established in 2013 to work on standards in order to be able to harmonise information and training for the rescue services.
The presentation was part of the CTIF Symposium on”Responding to the Unexpected” and featured the results of the NIFTi and TRADR projects, including the recent success of the TRADR deployment in Amatrice, Italy, destroyed by a devastating earthquake on August 24 2016. The presentation was met with great resonance from the representatives of fire and rescue services, and many expressed interest to further explore the use of robots to support disaster response. TRADR will continue to strengthen the collaboration with these organizations.
On Thursday September 1 2016 a team of the TRADR project deployed two ground robots and three drones in Amatrice, Italy, to assist the post-earthquake response. The team was asked by the Italian Vigili del Fuoco (VVFF), represented by Emanuele Gissi, to provide 3D textured models of two churches: San Francesco and Sant’Agostino, both in a state of partial collapse, in need of shoring to prevent potential further destruction and to preserve the national heritage.
UGV in San Francesco church, aerial view by the UAV that also entered.
View taken by the UAV inside the San Francesco church
We entered San Francesco with two UGVs (operated by Vlada Kubelka and Mario Gianni, who were supported by Erik Zimmermann and Luigi Freda, respectively), teleoperating them entirely out of line of sight, and partially in collaboration: one UGV provided a view of the other one to enable maneuvering in very constrained space with low connection bandwidth.
View taken by the UAV inside the Sant Agostino church
UAV entering the Sant Agostino church (red circle). Two other UAVs provide a view for maneuvering (one in yellow circle, the other providing the image).
Several flights were carried out on the outside and one flight inside of each church. Entering with the drone was a tough challenge, which we managed thanks to a collaboration between three drones operated in parallel: while one drone (piloted by Hartmut Surmann who was supported by Erik Zimmermann) was entering through a hole in the roof the other two (piloted by Kresimir Dilic and Wolfgang Rottner) were providing simultaneous video feed from different angles. The mission fulfilled its goal to collect data for the construction of high quality textured 3D models. Additional great success was the fact that the TRADR team was able to arrive and deploy at the location within 48 hours from receiving the request. The VVFF has expressed high appreciation to the TRADR project for the success of the mission and the smooth operation.
The main street of Amatrice after the earthquake, state on Friday Sep1 2016.
TRADR team in Amatrice (left-to-right): Erik Zimmermann; Wolfgang Rottner; Hartmut Surmann; Ivana Kruijff-Korbayová; Emanuele Gissi;VdF fire fighter; policeman Luigi Ugliano; Mario Gianni; Kneeling: Krešimir Dilic; Václav Hlaváč; Luigi Freda; Valsamis Ntouskos; Vladimír Kubelka.
Browsable versions of the 3D models of the interior and exterior of both San Francesco and Sant’Agostino churches generated from the data collected during the deployment in Amatrice can be accessed here.
The news of deployment was reported by Reuters, although without reference to the TRADR project. Many other media took this announcement and video over. In Germnay, for example: Frankfurter Allgemeine, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, n24, Die Zeit, Stern, MSN.
